I'm a Barbie Girl

You've really been living under a rock if you haven't heard: This hot-girl summer belongs to Barbie. 

For nearly 65 years, the planet has been obsessed with a blond-haired, blue-eyed, 12-inch-tall hunk of plastic. 

Her name? Barbara Millicent Roberts.

Love her or loathe her, Mattel and Warner Bros have put on a Master Class in marketing for the movie, with a dizzying 100+ brand partnerships in place before one fuchsia frame ever hit the big screen.

It is literally impossible to avoid catching Barbie Fever. 

From Progressive insuring her Dream House and AirBnB renting the real thing, to Gap selling matching Barbie clothes for you and your doll and Google exploding in fireworks for Barbie searches, the whole world's gone positively pink.

And I'm hooked!

The best marketing is rooted in emotion -- who among us couldn't use a hearty dose of nostalgia? A taste of a sweeter and simpler time. She's like a tiny toy time machine, transporting us to a cotton candy world swirling with happiness and fun. 

It's the ultimate escape. 

After all, Barbie Pink isn't just a color. It's a feeling. Like Tiffany Blue.

Why is life in plastic so fantastic? Well, maybe in an increasingly gender-neutral society, the Barbiecore trend gives everyone permission to unapologetically embrace all things girly.

And me? I LOVED her. 

Still do. Check out all this stuff I'm getting for my birthday -- I'm 50, not 5 -- yet the highlight is the original 1977 Barbie that started it all when I was just 4 years old.  Even at that young age, I knew Babs was special.  

This wasn't a babydoll to feed and diaper. This was a grownup! So I dressed her in sequins and feathers because MY girl was going samba over to Studio54.

Over the years, Barbie's caught a lot of flack for creating unattainable beauty standards. And sure, with anatomically impossible measurements of 39-21-33, her original rib cage couldn't fit all her organs. 

But who needs a pancreas anyway? 

Here's one thing I do know: Barbie is meant to be FUN! Remember fun?

Barbie can be ANYTHING. A pinup girl and an astronaut. A cowgirl and a scuba diver. An aerobics instructor and a train conductor. A rock star and a vet. 

Isn't that the point of make-believe?

To me, that's still pretty inspiring.  

So, I'll be the girl in the pink Corvette, driving off into the sunset. I hear Ken's waiting back in Malibu at the mansion with a couple of frozen margs...